Google is working on technology it’s calling Google Duplex that will use artificial intelligence to call businesses to make appointments and other tedious calls.
In two demonstrations, one setting up a hair appointment and another a restaurant reservation, a realistic-sounding automated voice used pauses and “ums” and “mmm-hmms” to sound more human during interactions with people.
“Hi, I’m calling to book hair appointment for a client,” the AI voice said in the demo and then negotiated a time and date for the appointment.
At its annual developers conference Tuesday, Google emphasized the technology is still in development and rolling out as “an experiment” in coming weeks.
“We really want to work hard to get this right,” CEO Sundar Pichai said.